Iranians on June 14 will cast ballots to pick a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term. Candidates had until May 11 to register for the race, with 686 signing up.

For two neighbors who don’t trust each other and for centuries were engaged in fierce strategic and religious competition, it is remarkable that Sunni Turkey and Shiite Iran haven’t gone to war over their border since 1639. As Turkish leaders walk a diplomatic tightrope over U.S.-led efforts to pressure Iran into abandoning a suspected nuclear-weapons program, their overriding priority is to keep it that way.

A Greek shipowner whose family’s oil tankers were hit by missiles during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war said he expects Persian Gulf crude exports to continue after Iran’s threats to block shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Born in Pakistan, Kashya Hildebrand spent 19 years working on Wall Street before starting anew as an art dealer in Geneva. In keeping with a life she characterizes as nomadic, she’s now moving her gallery to London from Zurich.